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DIRECTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT

and guidelines for initiating the healing form of seated meditation, and 2) to help veteran practitionerswith the refinement and deepening of their psycho-behavioral postures in meditation life practice. Withinthe inner and outer postural forms described here is a profound formula for practicing meditation lifetherapy in all activities and relationships. The checklist, therefore, should be regularly studied,consistently applied, and devotedly translated into the context of everyday life and interpersonalrelationships. This personal study, seated application and engaged behavioral translation is exactly theendless practice and refinement of meditation life therapy itself.

Remember that all the basic psycho-behavioral postures outlined in this practice checklist represent an"Ancient Template" for embodying truth, living integrity, nourishing health, and joyously practicing thewisdom-compassion body that is exactly your everyday life. I urge you to investigate this "AncientTemplate" by practicing and translating these meditation postures with deepening intimacy, gentleness,devotion, conscientiousness, and beginners heartmind. Never assume that you have mastered orcompletely understood any aspect or part of this profound and wondrous template. This is called,Embracing the Source of not-knowing and returning to the root of simplicity, everyday life is awakened tothe embodiment of faith, healing, vitality, peace, joy, and wonder.

1. Before you begin meditation, make a personal commitment to sit down completely. This means thatyour mind/body/heart should be devotedly intent on letting go of all agendas, expectations, and concerns.This is a time to surrender to just being seated in the precious bodily form of peace, self -compassion,

wakefulness, and breath.

2. You may employ one of several forms for seated meditation: sitting cross-legged on the floor,kneeling while sitting back on a cushion between your heels, and one using a straight chair. If you sitcross-legged on the floor, it is suggested that you also use a small sitting cushion or folded pillow, whichwill raise your sit, bones about four to six inches from the ground. In the kneeling position, your sit bonesshould be raised about the same height. If you are sitting on a chair, sit on the front half of the seat withboth feet placed flat on the ground and about a foot apart. Keep your own posture and do not lean backon the chair. If you have back pain or are physically unable to maintain your posture, use a supportpillow between your back and the chair.

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Core Wisdoming of Zazen Meditation

A Brief Manual for Embodying the Intimate

I wrote this brief manual with the following intentions: 1) to provide beginners with detailed instructions

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3. Make sure that your legs are comfortable and free from any tightness or restriction due to clothingor physical position. Thus, circulation will be unimpeded and tingling and numbness will be less apt tooccur.

4. Center your spine by swaying in decreasing arcs, side to side. Scan your body for any musculartension or tightness. Breathe into any tension or tightness and release it gently with each exhalation of

your breath. Become as comfortable as you can. As you establish a condition of ease in the body,remember to passionately arouse and maintain a mental quality of alert wakefulness in This OnlyMoment.

5. Relinquish your mental tendency to keep track of linear time, and recollect your devoted intent tojust sit and wait forever in breath and body without expectation. To wait forever means to surrender oryield to being in your body just as you are, whether it is difficult or easy, hard or soft, heavy or light, tiredor energized.

6. Straighten and extend your spine gently according to its normal curvature. Imagine a string attachedto your head and being pulled tautly and gently from heaven. Sensing the weight of your torso on your sitbones, gently tilt your pelvis slightly backward. Relax your belly muscles so that your abdomen protrudesforward in a relaxed and comfortable fashion. The small of your back, above your hips, should now be

naturally curved forward toward your belly button. Do not strain this natural forward thrust of your bellyand lower spine as it will create undue tension and muscular tightness in your mid back.

7. Lifting your head toward heaven, align it with its natural resting center on your spine. The headshould not tilt forward or backward, nor lean to either side.

8. Your shoulders should be in a relaxed and natural position, neither drooping forward nor thrustingbackward. Your ears should be parallel with your shoulders; the tip of your nose should be directly overyour navel; and your chin should be slightly tucked in.

9. Your eyes should be open in a natural position for "just seeing", neither strained open nor droopingclosed. Rather than looking straight ahead, they should be lowered toward the floor at a 45-degreeangle, three to four feet in front of you. Do not concentrate them on any particular area, but allow them to

remain in an "alert open gaze", mirroring and including everything crisply before them without hindrance.Keeping them in this relaxed, alert, and open position will help minimize blinking and drowsiness.

10. Your hands should be placed in the "cosmic mudra". a) Right palm is up, with blade of the littlefinger against your lower belly just below your navel; b) Left hand should be placed on top of your righthand with your middle knuckles overlapping each other; c) Your thumbs should be slightly touching eachother directly in front of your navel so that both your hands now form an oval in front of your lowerabdomen. If I were to point a finger in the middle of your hand oval and touch your abdomen, I would betouching an area three inches directly below your navel. This bodily location, just under your skin andmuscle is called the Tanden in Japanese or Tan Tien in Chinese and refers to your vital spiritual core orcosmic energy center.

11. Once you are comfortably seated in the bodily form of meditation, close your mouth with your lipsgently touching. Your tongue should rest comfortably against the roof of your mouth with the tip gently

against the upper front teeth. Your breathing should now continue only through your nostrils.

12. Become aware of your breathing with each inhalation and exhalation. Once you are aware of yourbreathing, begin to slowly breathe into your belly. During belly breathing your chest should stay relativelymotionless while your lower abdomen seems to fill up like a balloon. This belly breathing can be difficult atfirst. Dont force yourself. Just gently, try to encourage each breath into your lower belly without judgingyourself. Be patient and tender with yourself. If you find that you are creating tension in yourself, let go ofthe belly breathing for the time being and continue to be aware of your current pattern of breath with eachinhalation and exhalation.

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13. Follow the beginning of each inhalation with your awareness. Gently guide the inhalation with yourawareness into the lower abdominal region of the Tanden which your cosmic mudra is emphasizing. Letyour awareness pause as you reach the end point of the inhalation and then allow the exhalation to beginnaturally from the Tanden point in the lower abdomen. Follow the exhalation with your awareness until itis complete. Then begin again.

14. Constantly recall your mindfulness to the expansion and contraction of your belly and the flow of airpassing in and out of your nostrils. If you find that your thoughts have distracted you, do not judgeyourself. Gently bring your mindfulness to the bodily sensation of just sitting and become aware of yourbelly and nostril breathing. Remember, that meditation practice is called "completion without regret" whenyou devotedly recall yourself to your breath in several continuos moments or when you sincerely recallyourself to breath after having been distracted by thoughts or sleepiness. Both are equal in the eyes ofthis practice. The embrace of unconditional compassion should extend to both the son/daughter whoremains home or the prodigal son/daughter who returns after being away.

15. With each breath, allow yourself to also embody the immediate experience of your impermanence.Sense the delicate thread upon which your life hangs with each heartbeat and in each moment ofinhalation and exhalation. This sense of our immediate impermanence sustains a deep appreciation of

our life practice in this Only Moment.

16. Keep as still as possible during zazen meditation, but do so with a caring and attitude toward yourbody. If you experience some physical discomfort during zazen, try to make the necessary adjustmentsto settle into your "sitting form" comfortably. The adjustments might be very subtle muscular, skeletal, orattitudinal shifts. If you need to make any gross movements or subtle physical shifts, do so in a slow andmindful motion while still paying attention to belly breathing. For example, if your lower leg feels like it isstarting to tingle, you might first try tightening and relaxing the calve muscle. If this doesnt work thengently and slowly extend your leg outward while still keeping your mirror gaze and belly breathawareness. After circulation returns, you can slowly and mindfully bring your leg in and return to yourzazen form. Always be aware not to move in a heedless, careless or casual manner. Doing necessaryadjustments in this mindful way, you will not break or loose your embodied wakefulness and effortlessconcentration as the wisdoming body of Applied Meditation Therapy.

Copyright1/20/2008 All Rights Reserved

By Dr. Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici

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Photos to Assist you in Practicing the

Bodily Form of Zen Meditation

Pelvis Raised and Tilted Relaxed Belly.

Left Leg Forward, Feet and Legs Not on Top of Each Other.

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Thumbs Gently Touching and Held Horizontally at Navel Level.

Eyes Open, Relaxed, and Just Seeing at a 45-Degree Angle.Lips Softly Closed and Breathing Only Through Nose.

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Sitting in a Chair.

Same Eyes and Posture Upright withoutLeaning heavily into the back of Chair. Pillow is

Optional. Keep Feet flat on the Ground.